Ancient Metallurgy in Slovenia and surroundings (original) (raw)

2010, in: Argo 53/1, Journal of the Slovene Museums

ARGO 53/1 2010 56 Slovenia has always occupied a very important position in the trade and exchange of metals, as demonstrated by the very significant hoards and finds, dated to the Late Bronze Age, studied by Neva Trampuž Orel. 1 Such extensive research on ancient metallurgy (extensive in proportion to the size of the country) has not been carried out in any other region of Europe. N. Trampuž Orel's investigation determined the technology of prehistoric metallurgy and evidenced the differences in the alloys in this area and in West Europe. This also allows comparisons with other regions, such as Central Italy, France, and the Alps. More importantly, the study of metal hoards from different periods offers clues on the trade in metals in the Alps. A fact relevant to the present paper is that hoards dated to the 13 th and 12 th centuries BC were produced with quite pure copper, while the copper of those dated to the 11 th -10 th centuries came from fahlores and contains As, Sb, Ni, and Co. N. Trampuž Orel and her team pointed out that these pick-shaped ingots are different from other European regions: they have no shaft hole, show a composition with high As, Sb, Ni and Co contents that is typical of the Grauwacken area, and reveal connections between pick ingots and jewellery such as wheel pendants and necklaces. 2 These data have been very important for my researches in Italy and in particular in Emilia Romagna, where there are parallels in the Villanovan graves, with fragments of pick ingots and a silvery fibula, made of this metal. 3 The silvery surface is an effect of the segregation phenomenon with feeders coming up from the inside of the semi-molten mass. This metal is rich in As and Sb and has a silvery colour. 4 In this period there was a lot of interest in silver (Ag), a rather new material in this part of Europe. In the Villanovan cemeteries in Emilia Romagna several Ag ornaments have been 1 Neva Trampuž Orel, Spektrometrične raziskave depojskih najdb pozne bronaste dobe / Spectrometric research of the Late Bronze Age Hoard Finds, Depojske in posamezne kovinske najdbe bakrene in bronaste dobe na Slovenskem II / Hoards and Individual Metal Ancient metallurgy in Slovenia and surroundings ARGO 53/1 2010 57